502F Transfer Release

Updated 03/13
502F

STUDENT-ATHLETES: TRANSFER RELEASE

If a University of Kansas student-athlete is interested in transferring to another four year school, he/she must first be granted permission from the Kansas Athletics Compliance Office to have contact with the institution. Any student-athlete who has been denied a release to speak to other four-year institutions (Permission to Contact) about the possibility of a transfer or has been denied Permission to utilize the One-Time Transfer Exception to another institution is permitted a hearing opportunity per NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.3.1 or 14.5.5.2.10.1. The hearing shall be conducted by an institutional entity or committee outside of the Athletic Department, the Student-Athlete Appeals Board.

Student-Athlete Appeals Board

The Student-Athlete Appeals Board (SAAB) shall conduct hearings on cases involving student-athletes that have not been resolved utilizing other existing decision making channels. It shall only consider those cases that have been previously reviewed by the Director of Athletics as being appropriate to forward to the SAAB.

Transfer Release. The SAAB shall act on student-athletes’ appeals related to their request to have permission to contact other institutions or to utilize the one-time transfer exception when transferring to another institution.

Appeal process:

A. If a student-athlete appeals the denial of a permission to contact request or of a one-time transfer release request, the University of Kansas Student-Athlete Appeals Board (“SAAB”) is charged with determining whether the denial was fair under the attending circumstances and whether procedural rules were followed.

B. The SAAB is comprised of three individuals appointed by the Provost’s Office (or Designee, currently the Vice Provost for Student Affairs). Typically, membership is for three-year terms, with the option for reappointment. One of the three must be a faculty member.

C. The Senior Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator (“AD/SWA”) and the Associate Athletics Director for Compliance will attend the appeal hearing as non-voting members to provide resource/regulatory guidance.

D. A student-athlete who wishes to appeal a denial of a permission to contact request or a one-time transfer release request must provide notice of his/her appeal, in writing, within 3 business days of the denial to the AD/SWA. In the written notice of appeal, the student-athlete will provide a brief statement as to the reasons why the student-athlete believes the denial of the permission to contact or the one-time transfer request is unfair. The SAAB Hearing must occur within fifteen (15) business days of receipt of the student-athlete’s written request for a hearing.

E. On receipt of the student-athlete’s notice of appeal, the Senior Associate AD/SWA will contact all SAAB members to determine a minimum of two date/time options for the Student-Athlete Appeals Board hearing that are mutually convenient to all parties involved in the appeal. The Senior Associate AD/SWA will provide these two available dates/times to the student-athlete to determine which date/time is most convenient. The Senior Associate AD/SWA will communicate the final date/time/location to the SAAB representatives as well as the Athletics’ staff members involved. At least three days prior to the hearing, the Senior Associate AD/SWA will also send the student-athlete a letter detailing the time and date for the hearing. The Senior Associate AD/SWA will copy all parties involved.

F. Those present for the hearing shall include the following: student-athlete, head coach, Senior Associate AD/SWA, the Student-Athlete Appeal Board members, and the Associate AD for Compliance for NCAA, Big 12, and KU rules clarification. If the head coach is unable to appear at the hearing, he/she may send a representative to present on behalf of the coach. Other participants may include, but are not limited to, the sport supervisor and/or faculty athletics representative.

G. The student-athlete may have one advisor in attendance at the hearing. Such advisor may only advise the student-athlete and will not be permitted to otherwise participate in the appeal hearing. The student-athlete must notify the Senior Associate AD/SWA at least 24 hours prior to the hearing of the name of the advisor and whether the advisor is an attorney.

H. If the student-athlete fails to appear for the hearing, the SAAB will determine whether he/she received timely notification of the hearing date/time and if so, the SAAB hearing may proceed in the absence of the student-athlete.

I. The SAAB members and those listed in sections F and G above shall be the only individuals in attendance during the hearing. The hearing is otherwise closed.

J. The SAAB will conduct the hearing. The process shall not be adversarial and will not be recorded by either party. At the beginning of the hearing, the Chair shall introduce all parties present.

K. The student-athlete will present his/her information and arguments first, followed by the information and arguments presented by the coach.

L. The student-athlete and/or the coach may ask third-party witnesses to explain/describe their first-hand experience with a given situation and respond to SAAB questions. Third-party witnesses will only be allowed in the hearing for their individual testimony. Names of any proposed witnesses must be provided to the Senior Associate AD/SWA at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. One witness at a time may be called into the hearing by either party. If necessary, provision will be made for witnesses to wait in a nearby location until called.

M. During the hearing the student-athlete and the athletics department will present their arguments concerning the fairness of the decision to deny permission to contact and/or a transfer request.

N. The Senior Associate AD/SWA will provide a copy of documentation for distribution to the SAAB and to the student-athlete at the hearing.

O. Once each party has presented his/her information and arguments, the committee may ask questions of either party, or ask for clarification of any rules or other information referenced in the course of the hearing. At the conclusion of the presentation of the parties’ arguments, everyone will be excused and the SAAB will deliberate.

P. The SAAB Chair will call the student-athlete and inform him/her of the SAAB’s decision and advise the student-athlete that a written decision letter will be mailed shortly to him/her. This written notification must be provided to the student-athlete within fifteen (15) business days of receipt of the student-athlete’s written request for a hearing. All SAAB representatives and staff members involved with the SAAB Hearing as well as the Athletics Director will be copied on this letter.

Q. The SAAB decision is final and non-appealable.